Improvement in railway-car wheels



` FREDFRIGK II, TnnvI'frHick, JR., oFNnw vonk, 14n/Y.

"5| PRo-VEM ENT' INy RAI LWAYf-CAR wH EELS.

`Specilication forming'part o'f Letters Patent No. 106,001, dated August 2, 1870.

To @ZZ whom` it nay macerie.'

Be it lknown that I, FREDERICK H. TREVI- THICK, J r;,`of New York, New York county,

in theStateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway- Wheels; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and` exact description there-` of, reference being `had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this application.

Previous to Iny invention various plans have been? devised `forthe construction of and nu- Vmerouspatents granted for what are known ,as compound77 railway-wheels. Ithas long been known toengineers and those experienced in the construction and working of rail- Away-carriages thatlgreat advantage might be `gained by Vcompounding railway-wheels of,

metal andsome more elastic material, so

as to relieve iboth the wheel and the rail of ,much of the great -jar orconcussivefstrain to which they are subjectedlA Manyyears .ago it was suggested to make railway-wheels with an annular wooden `portion located between a metallic `tire or rim and a metallic body or central portion, and although this principle of. construction of. a wheelviz.,

` with awooden or other suitably elastic packing or annular cushion arranged between a metallic wheel and tire-must certainly pos- Sess great advantages over a method of construction in which the whole wheel is made 'of metal, or practically non-elastic,`yet the practical difticultiesmet with in successfully carryi ing out this principle (a compound wheel) have for many years prevented its utilization. Experience and experiment have demonstrated the greatest extent, thedesirable purposes for which this kind of wheel is intended. `Among late improvements great advancement has been made over the old-fashioned compound wheels`,the impracticability of which arose principally from their complication of construction, requiring much accurate iittingaud 4many parts, which soon failed under the jar and wear to which railway-wheels,are sub- A ject.

In all compound wheels made or suggested previous to myinvention, at least one of two very serious objections exist-viz., 'either that of havingfnumerous parts and bolts to effect ,y

the retention of the tire or packing, or' both, or that of subjecting the cushions (or packing) to lateral strain, relying on them for the retention of the tire.

My invention has for its object the produc! tion ofma compound wheel in which the cushion or packing, of wood, (or other slightly elastic materiah) which is interposed between the metallic tire and the metallic body of the nwheehshall besubjected to strain or pressure in the direction only of the radii ofthe wheel, and in which thelateral thrust or strain of the tire shall be borne by the metallic body ofthe wheel, and not tend to ,Wear or displace the packing; andto these ends my invention consists in constructing the` wheel, ashereinafter more fully set forthso that the cushions or packing 'of wood or other suitably'elastic Inaterial which is interposed between the metallic wheel and tire shall be subjected to compression or strain only 'inthe direction of the radii of the wheel, (and not receive any lateral thrust'from' the tire;) and my invention further consists in a novel and simple means for insuring the retention of the tire, as hereinafter described. y

To enablethose skilled in the art to make and -use my invention, I will proceed to describe it more particularly, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, in Which- `Figure 1 is a side View and partial section of a compound wheel embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the opposite side to that seen at Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a section at the line :v w, Fig. 1. Fig. Liis a secton'at y y, Fig. 2; and' Fig. 5 is a plan of body of wheel with the tireremoved to more clearly illustrate the shapeand positions of thepacking. i y

In the several figures the same part will be found designated by the same letter of reference. r

A isthe metallic body of the wheel, which may be made of about the `usual design. Bis the metallic tire or rim. G C, Src., are the cushions or packing'of Wood or other'suitably elastic materiahwhich are interposed between the said metallic tire and body to form a cushion and give to the wheel the desired quality of elasticity, and D is the retainingring, for securing the tire in place.

The body A of the wheel is made, as seen, with aseries of lugs or projections, e.

f is a web or iiange extending round between the lugs e on one side of the body A of the wheel, as clearly shown, which iiangef serves to retain the cushions G endwise in one direction. (They are retained in the other direction or confined by the ring D.) The wood packing C is slightly tapered, and the tire B bored to a similar taper and pressed on tight over it.

The tire B is formed with an annular' projection or flange at h, which bears against the lugs c (when the tire is drawn home to its bearing on the packing or cushion-blocks C) in such a manner as to impart to the metallic body of the wheel any strain or thrust that the tire may be subjected to in consequence of its ange i coming suddenly against any obstruction in or being pressed against the rail of the road. Vhen the blocks Ohave been fitted in, the tire B put on, and the retaining-ring D adjusted between the groove i* in the tire and the groove t in body of wheel provided for it, it will be seen that the blocks C, although firmly packed or confined between the tire and the periphery of the body, are not tightly eoniined or compressed between the iiangef and the ring D, but are merely kept in place between these parts; and it will be understood that during any tendency ofthe tire B to move laterally either way it is retained in one direction by the flange 7L bearing against thelug c ol the metallic body of the wheel, and in the other direction by the ring D against its bearing on the said metallic body ofthe wheel, so that the blocks C are in no case subjected to any lateral wear or compression from the tire.

The ring D, I propose to have severed in one place, and I cut away a portion of one ofthe sides of each of the grooves in the tire and body of wheel, as seen at m and n, in order that one end of this cut ring may be inserted. I then worm7 or force the ring round into its grooves or bearings by the use of a spanner or key, (illustrated in dotted lines at Fig. 2,) the pins of which take into holes l 2 3, &c., formed for the purpose in the said ring D. After the ring D has been wormed or sprung into its seat, if deemed expedient, it may be prevented from turning round by riveting its ends round o'ne of the lugs or otherwise.

It will be seen that in lny improved wheel the blocks or cushions are subjected only to a vertical compression; or, in other words, they are only compressed between the internal face of the metallic tire and the periphery of the metallic body, to perform the function of cushioning77 the concussive action of the wheel on the rail, and thus save the wear and tear of both the wheel and rail, and induce to an easy and comparatively noiseless motion of the carriage, (which lastnamed object has become of great importance lately in sleeping and drawing-room cars) and that they are not subjected to any concussion, strain, or wear by the lateral pressure (in either direction) of the tire, all such lateral strain coming on the metallic body of the wheel.

Of course the shape, size, and material of the cushions or packing may be varied from what I have shown and described, without departing from the spirit of my invention, so long as the wheel is constructed with its lugs, iianges, and rings as described, whereby the cushions are relieved from all lateral strain without resorting to the excessively long and impractical flanges upon the tire.

Having fully explained the several features of my invention, so that one skilled in the art can make and use my improved wheel,

What I claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y l. A compound wheel in which the cushion-blocks or packing is relieved of all lateral strain by Ineans of a flange on the tire bearing against the ends of lugs formed on the periphery of the body and between the cushionspaces or seats, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with the tire and body of a compound wheel, a retaining-ring, arranged and operating substantially as described.

In testimony whereofl I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

J. N. MoINTiRn, S. D. CozznNs.

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